Horns and Triodes...?

Much appreciated, all. Clueless, a hot tip -- but, no, I wasn’t fast enough. Recognizing (I think) that it's unlikely to hit the magic combo right out of the gate, he's currently thinking about relatively budget gear with some DIY thrown in just to get things going in the right direction. This is all new to me, but the great bit is I get to play along, too. First things he mentioned, by way of example, were the Horne Shoppe and Decware -- and I'm guessing budget is under $1k for each of speakers and amp (and from there, ideas unsettled. I did try to drag him to Avantguard, but that’s definitely not the direction things are headed). My role in this, at this point, is the trigger guy ("do it, do it, do it -- pull the trigger") and have even offered to loan an extra preamp or two and a CD player to the cause if it makes the initial leap any easier. Trick is, over the course of the past year and a half, I'm sure that he's read just about everything there is to read on the subject at least once and is now paralyzed by too much information and no way to make any of it concrete by actually listening to any of the stuff. Knowledge is power, sure, but in the days of the internet driven info-glut it's often just befuddling. (Who was it that defined the information age as an explosion in the amount of information it is safe to ignore?) I’m just trying to come up with ways to break the stalemate...

P.S. When I told him that I was a junkie around these parts and playing along and all that, he warned me to "watch out for those guys" (from one prone to morbid, serial addiction to another). I, of course, let him know that I was "one of those guys" and that he was the one in trouble.

Well, gentlemen, in case anyone is still paying attention to this one, I thought I might offer a touch of resolution. After much consternation and gnashing of teeth, Jim, the friend of mine that started all this, has commissioned an amp from Mr. Korneff and ordered himself a pair of the Cain & Cain Abbeys. The upstream bits from there are still under debate, but considering the Abbeys are snowed in in Colorado and Jeff's amp magic takes time anyway, there's no rush. Thanks again for the pointers.

Yea, I'd love to build a pair of the Voight Pipes myself, and was seriously considering it there for a bit. Tom was kind enough to send me some pointers, I'd picked out the Lowthers I wanted to put in them, and I was on the hairy edge of pulling the trigger. Even had a cabinet-maker friend of mine lined up and we were just trying to figure out what variety of solid hardwood to make'em out of and brainstorming about how to sex them up a bit and turn the basic design into something really special and unique. (Well, actually, he spent most of the time making fun of me for my stereo addiction...). Then reality set in. I too live in a one bedroom appartment, fifth floor walk-up, no less. Moreover, going from Thiels (and equipment to drive the hungry mothers) to horns is no small endevour (especially up and down five flights...). Someday, when I have room for a second system, I'll go the horn route. In the meantime, I suppose I can always impose and listen to someone else's, once they arrive....

As for the friend, his wife is very discerning regarding what finds a home in the living room and what doesn't. When she could not only tolerate but actually liked the Abbeys, there was really no question that they were it. Don't matter how good something might sound, if you can't bring it home, won't do you much good.